


Not On My Day Off

by MadMothMadame



Series: Friends are the Family You Choose [6]
Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis, 幽☆遊☆白書 | YuYu Hakusho: Ghost Files
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Gotta say tho, Misunderstandings, Parkour, So if anyone is still in this void with me, Tennis, This one is one of my faves so far, because OF COURSE THERE IS, come along for the ride
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:56:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23778742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadMothMadame/pseuds/MadMothMadame
Summary: “Sure,” said Yusuke with a smirk, figuring there wasn’t any harm in the other guy tagging along. “Think you can keep up?”Inui answered with a smirk of his own and pushed his square-framed glasses farther up his face.“I shall endeavor to do so,” he said. “By all means, lead on.”Yusuke and Ryoma go for a run. Inui comes along for the ride.
Series: Friends are the Family You Choose [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1482518
Comments: 43
Kudos: 88





	Not On My Day Off

The practice right after the prefectural tournament was kept light. Many of the Regulars, Ryoma included, we're under strict orders to take it easy. They had been pushed hard by Fudomine, and those that played were either injured or universally sore. Even Inui, slave-driver that he was, had to admit that a breather was in order.

They weren't totally off the hook though. They did laps and easy drills for just over an hour, which was long enough for Yusuke to show up and loiter in the shade of a tree nearby. Apparently, he had skipped school, as he hadn't bothered to put on a uniform and was in street clothes. He appeared to be napping, but Ryoma knew better. Yusuke probably just didn't want to be bothered.

It wasn't the first time Yusuke had swung by practice. Ryoma had thought Oishi-senpai would object, what with Yusuke being from a different school and all, but Momo pulled him aside. Ryoma didn't know what Momo said to him, but the older boy let the matter drop after that. After all, Yusuke wasn't hurting anything and neither Tezuka-boucho or Ryuzaki-sensei seemed to mind.

It probably helped that Yusuke showed absolutely no interest in what they were doing. A spy would at least bother to watch.

They wrapped up practice a bit early, with an entreaty to take it easy and rest up. Ryoma didn't feel tired at all. They didn't even have anything to clean up, so Ryoma made his way to the locker room with the rest of the team. They all seemed pretty tired; Kawamura-senpai’s wrist was bandaged and looked to still be hurting him. But for all that his teammates seemed beat, Ryoma still had an itch under his skin, raring to go.

He didn't bother to change, just packed up his racket and stuffed his bag back into his locker. Waving Momo’s offer of a back-of-a-bike ride home, he instead headed over to where Yusuke was still pretending to nap.

“Hey,” he greeted the older boy. He kicked Yusuke’s foot when the other boy didn't answer. 

“Humph?” Yusuke groused, still not opening his eyes. Ryoma ignored his lack of enthusiasm. 

“Want to go for a run?” asked Ryoma, smirking when Yusuke opened an interested eye. 

Yusuke looked Ryoma up and down, lingering on the fresh stitches above the kid’s eye.

“You sure you're up for it?” he replied, not wanting to admit that he might be worried about the kid.

“Are you?” Ryoma gripped back, making Yusuke scowl. 

Ryoma had come over unannounced the day before the tournament and caught Yusuke’s bruises from Hiei at their most colorful, as Yusuke had been napping shirtless. The boy had looked shocked enough that Yusuke had held off grousing at him for not knocking to put on a shirt.

Ryoma had never really seen the aftermath of a good fight. He hadn’t bitched though, just let it go, even if he looked a little freaked out. Now though, Yusuke knew exactly what Ryoma was referring to.

“More than enough to kick your ass.”

“Echizen,” a voice interrupted them. Both Yusuke and Ryoma turned to see the tall slave-driver with glasses walking over to them, still in his workout clothes and carrying a notebook under his arm. He pushed his glasses up as he approached, the glare hiding his eyes.

“Inui-senpai?” Ryoma said in askance.

The older boy looked between Ryoma and where Yusuke was lounging still. 

“There is a strict policy of non-violence on this campus. If you are going to fight, do not do so on school grounds,” Inui said, sounding imminently disapproving.

Yusuke rolled his eyes so hard they nearly fell out of his head as he shoved himself up. Clearly, the other guy had caught the end of their conversation and decided he knew exactly what they were talking about. Typical.

“Fight?” Ryoma asked, “Why would we do that?”

Somehow, Yusuke was unsurprised Ryoma didn’t understand the miscommunication. Ryoma had less social awareness than his cat. 

His classmate, (the famous Inui, apparently. Ryoma had mentioned something about juice...) however, seemed taken aback by Ryoma’s assertion. He tilted his head to the side as he looked between them, making Yusuke feel uncomfortably like a frog being dissected. So, he stood up, feeling better with his feet under him.

“... My apologies,” said the teen. Yusuke gave him points for that. “It seems I misunderstood. May I ask what activity you intend to undertake then?”

Ryoma looked to him for some reason, so Yusuke shrugged.

“We were going to go for a run,” Yusuke said.

Inui looked between the two of them. “I see,” he said. “But Echizen, you should be resting.”

Scowling, Ryoma pulled his cap down and said, “I’m not tired.”

Inui nodded and cracked open his notebook, scribbling something down. Yusuke decided he didn’t want to know.

“Very well,” the bespeckled teen said, as he snapped shut the notebook, “In that case, I should like to accompany you, if Urameshi-san doesn't mind?”

“Why?” Ryoma didn't sound all that enthused.

“Your form and stamina are improving 13.4% faster than the other regulars. A variation of less than 5% can be accounted for by differences in physique, natural talent, and focus during practice. 10% would indicate significant extra effort after practice on your own time. I would like to witness first hand the root cause of such an extreme deviation from the norm.”

Ryoma blinked and looked to Yusuke, again, like it was his decision. Yusuke shrugged. He didn't care one way or another. Might be fun.

“Sure,” said Yusuke with a smirk, figuring there wasn’t any harm in the other guy tagging along. “Think you can keep up?”

Inui answered with a smirk of his own and pushed his square-framed glasses farther up his face. 

“I shall endeavor to do so,” he said. “By all means, lead on.”

Yusuke shared a smirk with the kid and led them off of the school's campus at a leisurely stroll. They’d start the real fun once they got to somewhere a little more challenging than a dead sprint. He turned to Ryoma and asked, “How’s the eye?” He was content to ignore their new companion until he did something interesting.

“Fine,” Ryoma answered, resettling his cap on his head. “Itchy.”

Nodding, Yusuke asked, “When are the stitches out?”

“Tomorrow.”

That sounded about right. Yusuke avoided stitches whenever possible, but he was more than familiar with them. 

“How’s Kuwabara?” Ryoma asked. 

“Fine, I guess? I haven’t seen him all week.”

“Skipping school?” Ryoma asked again, nosy but not judging, which Yusuke appreciated just enough to answer. They had just passed through the main gate of the school, so Yusuke pulled out a cigarette, lighting it deftly despite the wind trying to foil him. 

“Tch. Fucking waste of time. It’s not like Iwamoto would pass me even if I showed up.” He took a drag, and savored it. He was low on cash, and this was his last pack until he could scrape together enough for another one. It was one cigarette a day for the foreseeable future. 

Ryoma nodded in agreement, but scowled when Yusuke let out his first puff.

“Smoking will give you cancer,” he said, as if he hadn’t told Yusuke at least a dozen times. 

Still, Yusuke was feeling charitable, so he just snorted, amused, and said, “Talk about beating a dead horse.”

“Because it’s true.” Ryoma sounded petulant now.

In the interest of saving the cigarette for later and not at all because he was giving in to Ryoma’s nagging, Yusuke began the process of putting out the cigarette with his fingers, tapping the lit end lightly until it was mostly out, never keeping contact long enough to burn his finger. Then he covered both ends with spit damp fingertips and let it suffocate, all while he said, “The odds of cancer being what kills me are slim to none. Besides, what’s life without a dash of imminent death on the side?”

Ryoma didn’t answer, but seemed appeased that Yusuke had indeed put out his cigarette.

Behind them, Inui had out his notebook and was scribbling furiously. Definitely creepy, Yusuke decided as he came to a stop.

“Here’s as good a place as any,” he said, swinging his arms and stretching out.

Ryoma nodded and followed Yusuke’s lead in starting to stretch, Inui a moment behind him. They were down a side street with plenty of fences and bike racks to bounce up and over. Seemed like fun.

Yusuke bounced on his toes a few times and took off. 

Ryoma was right behind, letting Yusuke lead him through the city. He had no idea where they were, but Yusuke always knew, so he wasn’t worried. Instead, he focused on keeping up and maybe pulling off some of the tricks Yusuke had showed him. He was nowhere near as successful as Yusuke, and his tricks were more somersaults than the double backflips Yusuke flew through, but it was a definite improvement from even their last run, and he only wiped out once in the first half hour. 

Inui was somewhat less successful. He was fast, Ryoma supposed, but clearly had never done this before, and the first fence had taken him a few tries to clear. Good teacher that he was, Yusuke didn’t lead them to anything more challenging until he was certain Inui wouldn’t kill himself trying to follow. 

The senpai figured out the vaults and roll landings quickly enough, though, and soon Yusuke seemed to consider him steady enough to take them over a few low roof tops. The route was just as exhausting as usual, and Yusuke kept terrifyingly close to the edge as they sped along. Eventually, he flipped onto a ladder and slid to the ground, leading them in an all out sprint along the back alleys before utilizing a fire escape to clamber his way back up to the rooftops.

Ryoma’s arms and legs and lungs were screaming. Inui didn’t look much better as Ryoma stole a glance at his senpai. He was sweating and panting, but Ryoma knew just by the rhythm he set that Yusuke had no intention of stopping anytime soon. He must have done nothing all day to still have so much energy. Ryoma was a little jealous. 

But soon enough, his second wind kicked in and he pushed all the harder to keep up. There was absolutely no way that Yusuke would beat him, even if it led to a skinned up knee and aching everything. 

Still, Inui kept up significantly better than Ryoma expected him to, even though their match weeks ago had proven that his senpai was not lacking in stamina. Inui didn’t bother with any of the twists or flips that Yusuke was throwing in for fun, but to be fair, at the pace Yusuke was setting, Ryoma had stopped doing them as well in an attempt to keep up. Nonetheless, he felt quite vindicated at the trouble Inui was having. When he first started with Yusuke, he had felt like maybe he just hadn't been as fit as he'd thought. He knew better now that Yusuke was just in a class of his own.

That said, the fifth fire escape an hour later that took them up six stories had Ryoma's arms quaking with effort and his lungs gasping for breath.

Yusuke came to a halt at the edge of the roof, breathing heavy, but still mostly relaxed, as though he’d only just finished warming up, the jerk. He crossed his hands behind his head. Leaning back, he sighed, apparently enjoying the view while he paid no mind to Ryoma and Inui both collapsing for a breather.

Ryoma didn't care at all about his pride anymore, just happy that Yusuke had called a break. 

Inui was even worse off than Ryoma, which was reassuring.

Nobody said anything for a while, too busy catching their breath. Finally, Inui sat up from where he had been lying face up on the roof and pushed his glasses up from where they had slipped.

“Echizen?” he started, and Ryoma grunted in response, not bothering to open his eyes. “Approximately how often do you engage in this additional training?”

Ryoma shrugged. It varied.

“I estimate that it must be at minimum twice a week to account for the growth you have demonstrated since joining Seigaku.”

Ryoma shrugged again. That sounded about right.

Inui nodded and pulled a notebook out of somewhere and started scribbling.

“Urameshi-san, may I make an inquiry?”

“Huh?” Yusuke said, twisting to look back at Inui. He looked surprised, but game. 

“How long have you been a practitioner of parkour?” Inui asked, pen at the ready.

“You mean free running?” Yusuke asked. Inui nodded. “I don't know. A couple years at least.”

“I see. And how did you begin the practice?”

“Necessity mostly.”

He didn't elaborate, but Inui kept scribbling all the same.

“You had no mentor in the art?” Inui asked.

“Do I look like the kinda guy who has a mentor? I figured it out myself. Pretty easy to get right if everything you do wrong hurts. Didn't take long to stop making stupid mistakes,” said Yusuke with a wry smile.

Ryoma couldn’t help but agree. It had only taken a few rounds of bruises to figure out his landings, but they had proved a strong motivator. He was actively listening now, ignoring the chill settling on his skin as the sunset air cooled his sweat soaked shirt. Yusuke didn't talk about himself much, and Ryoma felt awkward asking. Luckily, Inui had no such compunctions.

“Ah. Did any serious injuries result from your ‘mistakes’?”

“Not really. I lot of scraps and bruises, a twisted ankle now and then. It's nothing compared to taking a fist to the face, if you know what I mean,” Yusuke said, smirking and holding up a clenched fist for emphasis. Ryoma could just make out the scabs on his knuckles. He didn't need to see the other guys face to know that Yusuke opponent had definitely walked away with worse then a few split knuckles. 

Inui pushed his glasses up again and seemed to zero in on the injury presented to him. 

“You engage in physical violence regularly?” he asked.

“... You do know who I am, right?” Yusuke asked. Coming from someone else, it might have been arrogant, but Ryoma had yet to meet any Junior High student who didn't know the name Yusuke Urameshi. Inui had known who Yusuke was without being introduced. Either he knew him as the number one punk of Sariyashki Jr High, or as Ryoma's friend. From Ryoma’s experience, the former was significantly more likely.

Inui’s lips quirks in what could creepily be called a smile. “Second hand information is often flawed or skewed by bias. I prefer to get my data from the source whenever possible.”

Yusuke didn't say anything for a moment, which was unusual. Ryoma blinked his eyes open and looked over at his friends. He found an uncharacteristically serious look on the older boys face. Sitting up, Ryoma gave the conversation his full attention. 

The green clad boy had turned to mostly face Inui, weighing the older boy with eyes that looked molten in the sunset light. Then he smiled. It almost hurt to look at, like gazing directly at the sun at full-noon. 

Yusuke nodded at Inui, something like respect in his eyes. “I’ve been in more than my fair share, I guess.”

Inui didn’t linger on what was clearly a touchy subject. For all that Yusuke seemed to truly like fighting the same way that Ryoma truly enjoyed tennis, it always seemed to echo hard in his voice whenever it came up. Ryoma was fairly certain that while most of Yusuke’s fights included him as a more than willing participant, sometimes he hadn't been, especially when he was younger, and that kind of sucked.

“Do you have an estimate on how far and how often you personally run?”

Once Inui started, and once it was clear that Yusuke was okay with that particular line of questioning, he didn’t hesitate to ask him about everything, from sleeping habits to favorite stretches. It took so long, Ryoma considered falling asleep. The sun, which had already begun to set when they had first gotten up to the roof, finally sunk below the horizon. A chill was beginning to set in as the sky turned purple around them. Yusuke was endlessly patient, which was a little weird, but then, Yusuke didn’t have many friends; maybe it was a nice novelty to talk about himself, even if just about his running hobby. Ryoma never really knew how to ask.

For Inui-senpai, this clearly wasn't a problem. Ryoma would be jealous if it wasn’t so boring. At least he seemed to be wrapping up. He snapped his notebook shut with a crack.

“Thank you, Urameshi-san. That was most informative,” Inui said, standing up.

“No problem,” Yusuke replied. He pushed off the railing he’d been leaning on. “You guys should head back and get your stuff anyways.”

Which marked the exact moment that Ryoma remembered he hadn’t brought his bag and that they hadn’t swung by his house to drop it off there, like usual. Instead, it was back at Seigaku. In his locker. In the locked club-house.

“Shit,” Ryoma said.

“What’s up?” Yusuke asked.

“I left my bag at the school. It will be closed by now.”

“Just get it tomorrow,” Yusuke said.

“I can’t. I have-” Ryoma cut himself off, embarrassed and not sure why. Yusuke and Inui were both staring at him, waiting. “. . . Homework.”

Yusuke blinked.

“Seriously?” Yusuke asked, disbelieving.

Ryoma nodded, pulling his cap brim down as far as it would go.

Yusuke cackled. He laughed so hard he nearly fell over. Ryoma just scowled at him.

“Some of us have actual school work to do, asshole.” Ryoma’s voice was a mix of his genuine irritation and long-suffering martyrdom. 

Holding up a hand, begging for patience while he tried to stop laughing, Yusuke finally got ahold of himself enough to say, “Sure kid, whatever floats your boat.”

“Ryoma is correct, of course.” At least Inui backed him up. “If Echizen-kun falls behind in his schooling, his participation in the tennis club could be curbed to better facilitate his education.”

“Seriously?” Yusuke said, as if he’d never heard of this normal practice before. Both Inui and Ryoma nodded. “Well, that sucks. What can we do to get your homework?”

“Not to worry,” Inui said, “I foresaw that this might be a problem and brought my key to the club house. As assistant coach, Ryuzaki-sensei entrusted it to me.”

So they started the long walk back to Seigaku. Ryoma asked Yusuke if he'd got to play the new arcade game he'd been excited for yet, which started a conversation on video games that lasted most of the walk back. Ryoma was surprised that Inui contributed so much to it, but apparently he was a fan of that particular franchise. 

The conversation was surprisingly fluid between the three of them. Ryoma had never interacted personally with Inui-senpai, but Yusuke could talk for hours about anything. He and Inui volleyed the pros and cons of Dungeon Master for a half and hour while Ryoma, who was mostly indifferent to the game, just argued whatever side he thought would be most annoying. He decided Inui was surprisingly good company.

Yusuke peeled off once Ryoma and Inui recognized the neighborhood enough to find their school, saying something about being late to a poker game as he re-lit his earlier cigarette. The smoke from it billowed in the streetlights as Inui and Ryoma watched him walk away.

They walked together in silence, side by side, for a while, before Inui said, offhand, “He is not what I expected.”

Ryoma made a questioning noise.

“He is surprisingly affable for someone so abrasive. His predilection for violence is somewhat worrying, but not unexpected given his apparent circumstances.”

“Circumstances?” Ryoma asked.

Inui nodded and opened his notebook to reference.

“Judging by the worn state of his clothing and shoes, he comes from less than privileged socio-economic background,” Inui began. “His knowledge of back alleys and apparent indifference to our traversing of the more poverty stricken parts of town, such as that which he led us through today, implies that he is from the area himself, indicating financial difficulties. In addition, his ease in lighting and handling cigarettes shows that he has engaged in the inadvisable practice for at least several months. He is quite young to have such a habit and not be found out by a parental unit. So, either whatever supervision he has does not know of his habit, unlikely due to the smell, or they simply do not find it a fight worth having.”

Ryoma thought of Yusuke’s house, a disaster more often than not, and how he'd never seen Yusuke’s mom in all the months he'd known Yusuke, even when the other boy was unconscious and in need of constant care. He didn't like that he couldn't find anything to disagree with about Inui's assessment. 

“In most cases, such parental neglect often leads to children with a dangerous disregard for others and themselves.” Ryoma opened his mouth to argue, but Inui continued before he could, “However, though this is true in some regard, as with his smoking, fighting, and scorn for education, he also appears to be a deeply empathetic individual. Highly intelligent, though perhaps not in a bookish way, he shows great interest and concern for those around him. He is not openly hostile or aggressive any more than you yourself are.”

He gave Ryoma a sideways glance. Ryoma just shrugged. He knew he was often rude. He just didn't care.

“Not only this, but he appears to have a genuine interest in maintaining your friendship.” 

Ryoma looked at him, startled. Inui just quirked a smile.

“He clearly only accepted my presence and badgering in deference to my position as a senior member of a club to which you belong and also care deeply for. I imagine that without your mitigating presence, I would have been, at best, ignored.”

To which, Ryoma could only shrug. Inui was probably right, but Ryoma didn't know for sure. He wasn't quite sure why Yusuke hung out with him anyways.

“In any event, his methods for maintaining peak physical fitness is efficacious, if not unusual. Such a regiment would surely benefit the entire team.”

Ryoma didn't know what to say to that, so he stayed quiet. He ran with Yusuke for the exercise, sure, but also because it was fun. He doubted the other regulars would find it so. He was pretty sure that half of where they went included minor trespassing anyways. Oishi would have a conniption.

They had reached school grounds. Inui led them silently around back to avoid any security that might be lingering. They reached the clubhouse without any drama. Inui unlocked it, and both boys grabbed their bags, locked up, and then headed out again. They had just passed the school gates when Inui spoke again.

“Would Urameshi-san be interested in assisting Seigaku in our training?”

“What?” Ryoma asked.

“As an adviser or assistant. He clearly holds a standard of fitness to be aspired to, and often attends our practices anyways. Would he be interested in joining in?”

“I don't know,” Ryoma said. “I doubt it though. Yusuke doesn't really like being told what to do.”

Inui nodded and said, “I had inferred as much. However, in this case, he would be instructing, not being instructed.”

Ryoma thought about it. They had come to a halt at the crossroads where their paths diverged, and stopped to finish their conversation. 

“... I don't know,” Ryoma said finally. “But I can ask him?”

“Excellent. I shall talk it over with Ryuzaki-sensei and see if we may come to an agreement.”

Ryoma hadn't thought he'd meant during the official practice. Maybe after, but not during. 

Scowling, he dragged his hat down almost into his eyes as he said, “I'll wait to ask Yusuke then. I don't think she'll go for it. She doesn't like him.”

Ryoma remembered her warning him off Yusuke just after they'd first met. He hadn't remembered at the time, but Yusuke had reminded him after Ryoma had offered to introduce them, which had made Ryoma feel a bit like a jerk. And then there had been Momo’s first meeting, and the disaster it had been. He thought the rest of the regulars might react the same way, which would be equally awful. 

Inui made a thoughtful noise before saying, “I am confident I will be able to convince her.” Then he smiled at Ryoma. Not the creepy one, but a real one.”The reputation that precedes him is difficult to ignore, but it seems a worthwhile endeavour. I'm sure she can be made to see reason.”

Ryoma doubted it, but just shrugged and let it go.

“Good night, Inui-senpai.”

“I will see you tomorrow, Echizen.”

They parted ways. 

Ryoma arrived home to dinner on the table and slightly worried parents, who were assuaged when they realized where he'd been. His father lamented that he liked training with Yusuke better than training with him, his lauded and extremely talented father, which was Ryoma agreed was true, causing more annoying lamentations. His mother sent him upstairs with a kiss he pretended to hate, and he breezed through his English and algebra homework.

Laying in bed, trying to sleep, he remembered what Inui had said, about “less than ideal backgrounds” and “parental neglect.” It made his stomach feel weird. He rolled over and tried, unsuccessfully, to get some sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my darlings! I was so hyped to get comments on this series you guys don't even know. You are the only reason this part is coming up, so if you've hung in here this long, know that I love you and this one is for you <3
> 
> This one was a bit sad though, and I'd love to hear thoughts and stuff. Kudos also feed my lonely soul. I hope you enjoy.  
> -Moth


End file.
